Parents Petition FG Over Queen’s College ₦21,500 PTA Levy — Sparks Outrage!

Despite explicit orders from the federal government (FG), several parents, acting on behalf of Concerned Parents of Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos, have accused the school administration and the Parent-Teacher Association of extortion through “unauthorised” charges.

The irate parents said they were being forced to pay more than N21,500 every term as PTA fees in a petition to the Minister of Education, which The PUNCH was the only source of.

The petitioners asserted that this was almost twice the N12,000 ceiling that the government had authorized.

Mr. Anthony Enahoro signed the petition, which stated: “Queen’s College still charges N21,500 per student despite your Ministry’s circular dated March 19, 2025 (Ref: SAF.27/S.12/1), which authorized a maximum PTA fee of N12,000 per term for all Federal Unity Colleges. In addition to being illegal, this puts a terrible financial burden on many parents, particularly during these hard economic times.
The letter further claimed that Queen’s College feels “more like a privately-run institution than a Federal Unity College” and accused the school of disregarding several petitions.

They also claimed that because of the purported lack of federal teachers, they were being compelled to pay the salaries of PTA-employed teachers, which they said shouldn’t be their duty.

Even worse, despite allegations that the federal government does not provide enough teaching staff, we have been forced to pay the salaries of PTA-employed teachers. As a result, there are now more PTA-employed teachers than Federal teachers, the petition continued.

Additionally, they criticized what they called an “illegal” foreign language fee that was purportedly applied to roughly 650 junior secondary school pupils getting ready for the Basic Education Certificate Exam.

They claim that students have assessed a foreign language fee of N2,500, which is recorded under PTA dues but is not shown on the official school bill.

Mr. Oluwayomi Ojo, the chairman of the QC PTA, insisted that the PTA levy was N12,000 rather than N21,500 when The PUNCH contacted him.

Get a copy of the invoice so you can check it out for yourself. An invoice detailing all the payment items, including the PTA levy, must be in the possession of the person who provided you with my contact information. The PTA levy, in my opinion, is N12,000 rather than N21,500,” he stated.

“I want to put an end to the false information that the QC PTA raised levies,” he added. We haven’t.

The PTA levy, as determined by FME, had remained N5,000 for about 20 years, if not longer. Everyone is aware of what that might bring in today. The FME made the necessary decision to raise the tax to $12,000 a few weeks ago.

The PTA occasionally asks parents to contribute to the levy to supplement it and help the school in times of need, such as when gasoline prices skyrocket.

By lowering the cost of school to N17,000 per child and N30,000 for boarders, the government has accomplished a great deal.

Lastly, I want to use this way to let the parents know that all of our requests are in line with what was discussed in meetings and are solely intended to make our wards more comfortable at school. I think the parents who don’t show up for our meetings are the ones who made these concerns.